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Thursday, December 15, 2016

2017 Racing Plans

Today is the day that I always look forward to- when I have all of my races planned out and my training schedule written down. Besides lacing up a new pair of shoes for the first time, is there any better feeling for a runner?

If you saw my weekly training recap on Monday, you might have noticed that I have "Gettysburg Marathon" as the title of my training. I decided to have a redemption race for the marathon that I never ran last year. There was a lot going on in my life at the time, and it just wasn't the right year for a marathon. 2017 is going to be that year and I will complete (at least) one marathon!

The Gettysburg Marathon is on April 23rd, which gives me a 20-week training period. Since this is a pretty long training schedule, I'm going to be breaking it up into different chunks with a tune-up race after each chunk.

First up will be the Chilly Cheeks 10 Miler in January. I've never done this race before, but it seems like a smaller race (last year there were 74 finishers). It looks like the race course is four laps of a 2.5 mile course, so it should be a great way to test my pacing!

In February, I'll be doing the Spring Thaw race at North Park. I did this race last year and finished the 15 miler. One thing that I really like about this race is that it has different distances available- 10, 15, and 20 miles- which you can decide on race day. This race is around the time I should be doing my first 20 miler, so if I'm feeling good on race day I'll do all 20 miles. If I'm having a bad day, I like the option of being able to stop after 10. Right now I'm planning on doing 15, but we'll see what happens! There are also pacers in this race, and I run on the race course pretty much weekly, so it will be another great opportunity to practice race pace and fueling.

Next up in March I'll be running a half marathon. I set my PR last year at the Shamrock Shuffle Half Marathon, and I'm trying to decide between that race again or another one in DC. I registered for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler lottery but wasn't picked, so I'm hoping to do a different race in that area. Either way, if training goes as planned, I should be able to set a new PR with no problems.

Edit- this morning I registered for the Rock 'n' Roll DC Half Marathon! There's a HUGE sale today for all RNR Races in 2017..I was able to register for this race for almost half off! If you're thinking of running one of these races next year I would register today.

Finally, these all lead up to the Gettysburg Marathon! The course is completely different this year to run around the battlefields, so I'm looking forward to it. Looking at the route profile, it's a relatively flat course with some rolling hills throughout. It seems like a perfect marathon course!

There you have it- my race schedule for the first half of the year! I'm excited to be training for a full marathon, and these races fit in perfectly with my training to keep me on track. I'll be talking more about what training plans I'll be using along with some goals next week, but my number one priority is to get to the starting line of Gettysburg healthy and still loving running. I have time goals as well, but if that happens I'll consider this a success!

Have you figured out your race schedule yet?What is your big goal for 2017? Have you ever entered a race lottery? Were you successful?
linking up with Amanda

Congrats and it sounds like you have a great training plan (20 weeks is no joke!) I'm hoping for my 3rd marathon next year I train more seriously- my first two I trained like 10 weeks- still haven't decided which one to sign up for but thinking about Richmond!! Good luck with your training :)

I'm gunning for a PR at the Boston Trail Half, the same one Jennifer is running. So, I'll start training end of January or so. But I'm planning on doing the Spring Thaw 10 miler, and probably the 8.1 at JASR (for an automatic PR since that's a distance I've never run!)

Either way, it truly is so exciting to have a race schedule // training schedule all planned out. We should go for a run this spring! Either a whole one, or I'll join you for the second half of your long run. :)

Wow, I'm impressed that so many people have their races planned out already (I am kind of late with sign-ups usually)... but it sounds like you have a solid plan for the next year already. That is awesome.

I would love to do the Cherry Blossom race one day! Definitely tricky with the lottery system and if the trees will be in bloom on race day! I entered the Big Sur marathon lottery and got in! Unfortunately I got injured during training and was unable to run. I also entered the lottery for the Twin Cities 10 miler and was not chosen. I have 2 halfs and a 15k on the books for spring and I am excited to get back into training mode. I saw the Rock n Roll discount and I'm tempted to sign up for more! Best of luck in your training!

That elevation chart looks great - gentle rollers are so nice for the marathon because of the variety. I have a few races in mind for 2017, although I'm still on such a high from CIM that I haven't thought too much about it.

2017 sounds like it's going to be a great year for you once again! I WISH our area had an elevation chart like that race - instead it's up and down like a yoyo and I come home to my Fitbit saying I've done 40-50 flights of stairs :P

RnR DC is a great course! I ran in a few years ago (and run the course more or less pretty often in training), and I also signed up for it on the crazy sale day (in addition to Virginia Beach). The hill is tough but at least the year I ran it, there were photos of fallen soldiers lining the entire thing and their families were all along the side of the road cheering and encouraging everyone - honestly it was kind of hard NOT to run up it in that moment!

i ran the RnR with Tracy... I was not a fan lol. It was my worst race, but that was mainly on me and the weather. I hope yours is much better! the hill sucks but like Tracy said, the people all up and down it made it easier. i'm sorry you didn't get the cherry blossom.. i wonder if i could transfer mine to you? i might not be able to do it now, which sucks. not 100% sure yet.